Eyeglass construction



Aug- 7, 1934- G. E. NERNEY 1,969,145

EYEGLAS S CONSTRUCTION Filed March 20, 1931 a 3a a MIM/@laf fMmM INVENTOR .mHUuw 54 BY ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 7, 1934 Bay State Optical'Company', Attleboro, Mass.,

a corporation of Maine Application March Ztl,- 1931, VASerial No. 524,049

claims. (eL-88447) This invention relates to eyeglass construction.

One of the objects of this invention is tov provide an eyeglass construction which will be simple and thoroughly durable. Another object of this 5 invention is to provide a device of the above character which shall-be .of graceful proportions and pleasing appearance. l Another object-of this'in-A vention is to provide a device of the above char-r acter which willA be inexpensive and of ready manufacture. Another object of this invention is to provide a device of the above character which will be eicient and practical in use. `Another object of this invention is to provide a device of the above character which will be light and whose connected parts shall be strong'a'nd ca' pable of resisting Various stresses'. Another object of this invention is to provide a device of the above character adapted to retain the 'respective lenses in their normal position in a depend- 29 able manner with little necessity for repair or substitution of worn parts. Other objectsV will be in part obvious and in part pointedout hereinafter. .i 'f

This invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements;y

and arrangements of parts as will beexemplied in the construction to be hereinafter described and the scope of which will be indicated the appended claims. ff-" In the accompanyingl drawing, in which is shown one or'more of the various possible em-` bodiments of the several features of this linvention: Y l f y *f vFigure 1 isl a sideelevation of an eyeglass lens 635 withcertain of the parts of an ophthalmic mounting secured'thereto, certain other parts being broken away; E

, Figure 2 is a front elevation'on an enlarged scale of a lens retaining means as mounted, cer'- '40 tain of the parts being broken away; r`;

VFigure 3 is a side elevation of vthe-parts. as shown in Figure 2; t *Figure 4 is a cross-section takenfalongf-line l1'--4ofFigufre2; l',

Figure 5V is a'front elevation .of another embodiment of my invention;v and 1 y .y E

Figure 6 is a front elevation of a furtherem: bodiment of my invention. Y

Similar reference characters refer to,simi lar partsV throughout ,theY several j views-of the vTurning now to the drawing in detail, there is illustrated in Figure 1 anA eyeglass lens l0,Y and secured to oneend thereof is a lens retaining member generally mdicatedat llhayingan end piece-12 extending therefrom to be connected to atemple. At Vthe opposite end of lens 10 is a lens retaining means-generally' indicated at 13 and secured in turn to abridge. 14... Lens 10'may take any convenient shape,`for example, octagonal. Thus withanoctagonal lens the opposite ends thereof, or vmore specifically, those portions of the'lens engagedabylens retaining members 11 and 13 are.'substantially'.parallel. Inasmuch as the .dommentffeaturesoflthis. invention are clearly. .illustrated and Well adapted to be employed either-.for .connecting a bridge to'a lens or a templeptoa lens, .the construction` of one Aof thesetlens retaining Imembers only will be described in detail.. Thus, the construction of lens H retaining member 11 and lens retaining member 13. beinglsubstantially similar, that of member 11 will be .described in detail. a

Although .the means for securing lens 10 to lens retainingmeans l1l. may take various forms, i I have shown 'asan illustrative example of this a saddle generally'indicated at 18 (Figure 4), consisting. offtwo'arms 15 andvl'respectively extend-A ing inwardly from the periphery of the lensl to substantiallyrengage the opposite surfaces there- 0f.-;.The, endsgof arms l5 andzlare pierced to formi aligned L holes yand these'v holes are in Asubstantial, registry :with aphole' extending through lens 10,. .Thus al1 screwil' extends through `arm 16 and lenslQ and is threaded into arm. 1-5 to form an interconnection between the opposite arms 15 and 16 ofzthe` saddlefandlens 10. Arms 15 and 1 6 are preferably of sufficient .length with respect tothedistancebetweehscrew 17 and theedge ofv the lens so'athat theseat 19 of the saddle "does not engage theedge .ci the lens 'and is a suitable distance therefrom' y 1 r. j .Endlpiecex12.extends outwardly and rearwardly from the seat 19 oi? .saddle `18`and preferably is integral therewith. x A lug .;20' integral with end 95 piece; l2 and extending from the opposite end thereofylFigure53).':s in substantial .registrywith Y a-jslot223atyone endof,a:t,emple23.` For purposes of illustration-temple 23fis shown out of engage'- ment Vwith end piece,A 12 in Figure 4.' AV screw or rivet 2 4 extends through the `upper end portion 259i templeI 2 3,t l f 1rough lugv20y tol be threaded intoorsecuredyto the Vlower end-portion 26 ofthe templepar...y Thusthe temple bar is pivotally secured to end piece 12 and may move about an axis substantially parallel to .the planesv yof the respec- `tive V surfaces of lens 10. 'I'heinner Walls of end piece 12 are substantiallyrvounded andare in registrywith the rounded end portions 25 and 26 of they tein-ple.-I At the" outer ends of these walls,

y Cb

As more clearly shown in Figure 2, al strap`28 engages the edge of the lens and is pivotally mounted within the space- 29 between the base l19 of Vthe saddle and the edge of the jlens. ,Strap 28 may be constructed of resilient material, al though this is not essential for the practical operation of this construction.V The pivotal connection between saddle 18 and strap 28 may take any desired form preferably, however, two lugs 30 and 31 (Figure V4) extend ,from the opposite sides of strap28 to. be seated in suitably positioned holes near base 19 ofthe saddle and in arms;l5 and 16 thereof respectively. Thus strap 28 is free to move about an axis substantially parallel to screw 17. More`- specically,-if;screw;17 should act as anaxis about which end piece 12 might tend to swing, strap 28.would`tend to swing about an axis substantially :parallel thereto. However, when assembled, the edge :of lens '10. preferably lies flush against the inner surface of` strap 28.

Y In this' case, therey is substantially no opportunity for..the end ,piece to swing about screw 17 as an axis,fthe arc through which such motion might transpire beingextremely minute;

It is to be understood that any reference to a direction as outward means a direction substantially away from the center of the lens A.and any reference to a direction as downward refers to a direction substantially toward the feet ofthe wearer. Furthermore,..any mention'of a direction as inward or upward refers to directions'substantially opposite to those referred toabove.

A very common means by which'various forms of lens retaining members are vbroken'away from the vlenses towhich they are secured is .by a bending or twisting action of ther-'exteriorportions thereof. Referringto. Figure 2, itwill be seen thatV if pressureis appliedto the lower portion o-f theend piece as inthe direction of arrowy a and, f assumingfor purposes of. illustration that strap28 is rigidly secured to the saddle, pressure `is exerted on the lens by the strap 1in the direction vofar'row band alsoby thescrew 17 orzother securing means inthe 'direction of the'arrow .'c". Furthermore, the application of such kefforce tends to` push` or partially disengagethe'strap from'the lower portion of the edge ofthe lens. Thus, there is nothing tocounteract the force o indicated by the arrow. b2/for the securing means isbeing forced inthe direction 0f the arrow c and also there isnothing to counteract the force indicated by the arrow c for thestrap is beingforcedfawayfrom this portion'of tho-edge of the lens.V If theforce asindicated bythe arrow a is of sufficient intensity, its combined distribution as described above tends tol break the lensret'aining member'out of th'eflens.^ Of course, a force `applied to the end piece in a-nopposi'te direction from that indicated by arrow 11"l *would have the opposite effect with substantially the same disastrous 'result j I I have discoveredthat by pivotally mounting the strap-28 within the saddle 18 as described might move in an upward direction with respect y*to screw 17 as an axis would be infinitesimal. VAs- Aedge of the lens, for as' a greater force is applied above, the action of these various forces is counteracted. For purposes of illustration, let it be assumed that a force is being applied in the direction of arrow a (Figure 2) and to illustrate this more clearly I have shown an exaggerated position D which the end piece might assume. Of course it is to-,be understood that this-position is purely fanciful for as strap 28 lies close to the edge of the lens, the distance which end piece 12 suming the end piece to have moved a minute distance, strap 28 still exerts an equal pressure along the entire lengththereof in engagement with the against the inner Vsurface thereof by the portion of the edge above saddle 18, the strap pivots about its axis to regain'its equilibrium. Now no greater force is being applied to the edge of the lens in the direction of the arrow b than is also being applied in the directionjof an arrowd.- Screw 17, ofcourseytends to exert pressure against the lens in a direction ofarrowfcf" but as strapv 28 is exerting a force `in the directionof arrow d, these forces counteract each other. Thus the damaging effect of such aj force inthe direction of arrow a and, as described above,a1so a force in the opposite direction, which vmaybe createdA by va variety of. causesv commonly met with VVin practice, is substantially alleviated. 'Iheforce so applied to the lens is distributed over a much larger portion of the edge of thelens, which' is more capable of resistance without breakage,` and further the only 1arge-forcein one direction, namely, the forcein the directionof arrowfc, which might tend to break thelens uisi counteractedby a substantially Aequal force inthe opposite direction. f Y .f y y Y In Figure 5 I `have shown'a modified embodi--V ment of my construction adapted to be mounted 115 upon a lens 32 in whichit is-.dfrasirablerto1 mount the retaining means at an angular point on the periphery thereof. Thus the saddle 18 embraces the lens ina manner described abo'vaand has extending outwardly and rearwardly therefrom rthe end p iece 12,*so that the seat 19v of the, saddle in this embodiment. In Figure 6, thesaddle 1 8 embracesa lens`37,

at leastaportion of whose periphery is rounded. Thus a strap as-pivotauy mounted to the basoof saddle 18 in the mannerdescribed above, has-its inner engaging edge substantially rounded to conform withfthe periphery of lens`37. A'force in either an upward or downward'directionfap plied? to end piece lzicauses strap 38to1pivot about 140 its axis and maintain an inward-'forcefalongzthe portion ofthe edge of lens37engaged thereby.

.It will be seen that by this thoroughly-.dependaI able'` constructiona lens retaining means is 4provided which will bol/considerablymoro economical 145 in use in that it provides an ample remedyV for one of the more common'fo'rmsV ofi breakingrimlessk lensesV Furthermoraf because of the simple `'cimstruction'e'nf this device, the ultimate costfof the advantageous features thereof may be enjoyed with small, if any, extra cost.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a thoroughly practical and eiiicient construction in which the several objects hereinbefore described as well as many others have been successfully and advantageously achieved.

As many possible embodiments may be made of this invention and as many changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter hereinbefore set forth or shown in the accompanying drawing is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

l. In eyeglass construction, in combination, a lens, an endpiece including a body portion and two arms extending inwardly along the opposite surfaces of said lens, an element extending through both of said arms and said lens to pivotally connect said arms to said lens, and a part disposed between said arms and between said body portion and the edge of said lens, said part being pivotally connected to said arms and in substantial engagement throughout its entirety with the edge of said lens, and said part being held by said arms against all relative movement with respect thereto except pivotal.

2. In eyeglass construction, in combination, a lens, an endpiece including a pair of inwardly extending arms engaging the opposite surfaces of said lens, a securing element extending through said lens and both of said arms to connect said endpiece to said lens, the junction between said arms and the body portion of said endpiece being spaced from the edge of said lens, a strap member extending through the space between said body portion and the edge of said lens, said strap member being rigid and in engagement with the edge of said lens, said arms having holes formed therein adjacent said strap member, and means extending into said holes to pivotally connect said strap member to said arms and to prevent any movement of said strap member relative to said endpiece other than pivotal movement whereby said endpiece is firmly secured to said strap member against pivotal movement about said securing element although equal pressure is applied to said edge of said lens regardless of any force applied in any direction to the body portion of said endpiece.

3. In eyeglass construction, in combination, a lens, an endpiece including a pair of arms extending over the opposite surfaces of said lens, means securing said arms to said lens, the body portion of said endpiece being spaced from the edge of said lens to leave a space bordered by said body portion, said arms and the edge of said lens, a strap member extending through said space and engaging the edge of said lens, said arms having holes formed therein and in registry with said space and said strap member, and means extend- Ving into said holes and pivotally connecting said strap member to said arms, said strap member being capable of pivotal movement only.

4. In eyeglass construction, in combination, a lens, an eyeglass part including a pair of karms extending inwardly over the edge of said lens, a securing element extending through said arms and said lens to secure said part thereto, the body portion of said part being spaced from the edge of said lens, a strap member extending between said arms, the edge of said lens and said body portion and in engagement with the edge of said lens, said arms having holes formed therein adjacent said strap member, and pin means fitting snugly within said holes to pivotally connect said strap member to said arms.

5. In eyeglass construction, in combination, a lens, an eyeglass part including a pair of arms extending over the opposite surfaces oisaid lens, means pivotally connecting said arms to said lens, and a strap member mounted exclusively for pivotal movement between said arms at points substantially adjacent the edge of said lens so that said member rests against said edge, said part being held by said arms against all relative movement with respect thereto except pivotal. v

GEORGE E. NERNEY. 

